Eastland
Eastland has emptied out ever since the Frac-Rush began in Abile, with most of its citizens moving toward the "Big City" with dreams of wealth. The only citizens left in Eastland are its former mayor's son, Jhan Morgan, (the mayor was killed in an altercation with would-be drillers coming in from Wichita Fell to the north), and a smattering of older folks who aren't suited for the work of drilling at the oilfields. Jhan is 24 years old and he has experienced a number of challenges from the older members of the community despite his protection of them with his steady gun. The challenges are primarily based on his lack of experience and on his inability to deal with several irradiated animals that have been wreaking havoc. History Pre-War Eastland is a small county seat in West Texas. The War Eastland was hit by a bomb, but it landed south of the city due to a targeting error, so the city center was largely spared. Post-War The twisters of 2100 and the great earthquake of 2089 did most of the devastation to the town. Officially the town was re-founded in 2120 after all the post-war survivors died of radiation poisoning. Most descendants of survivors rode out the war in tornado shelters, but they were killed when the earthquake caved in many of them. Eastland is rent in half by a giant crevasse through the town's center. Culture Eastland was a place for subsistence farming after the town got itself re-arranged. Not all land was spoiled by radiation. The population was finally taking off just around the time of the Frac-Rush as people managed to cultivate increasing swathes as radiation leveled off. But then the Frac-Rush began and people started packing up and moving to Abile in search of a better life. Some of Abile's leading Drillers came from Eastland. In the wake of the Frac-Rush, the town has been hit by raiders and scavengers, some of whom killed the former mayor. The town is very suspicious of strangers and it is openly hostile to people who claim to be from Wichita Fell or who identify a hope to become Drillers. Economy Farming has been the mainstay of the area. Ida Sykes used to run a general store for the farmers to sell their produce direct to traveling merchants, but she shut the general store down after rowdy would-be drillers came through, robbed the place, and had their way with her. She could get the store running again if she felt motivated to do it, but she has taken to staying out of interaction with the public ever since the incident. Government The place is governed by a Mayor who is traditionally considered the town's protector, responsible for dealing with varmints, bandits, and all troubles. The Mayor sits in the old State Appellate Courthouse. The Mayor is currently facing dissent due to his young age, his inexperience, and his ineffectiveness. The Oldtimers faction which is led by Enos, has been agitating for the young mayor's replacement. Their main problem with replacing the mayor is that they don't have any particularly good prospects with which to replace him. Layout The town's center is split in half by an earthquake. Most of the farming land lies in the town's north, cultivated in small gardens on the tops of old buildings. The town's south has been ravaged by twisters. Further south still is the location of the old atomic bomb crater. Near the atomic bomb crater, a madman in a radiation suit has set up camp. When asked about what he was doing, he claimed that he had "a good lead" that the bomb was aimed at something important and that he intends to recover this ancient technology. In truth, the bomb really did miss Eastland and instead hit a factory filled with antique windmill parts--nothing that will be useful to sell since the 300-foot tall windmills are constructed seamlessly. The madman may be able to scavenge an engine, but the site has been quite devastated. Locations *'Eastland Church' is a Lutheran church, built in 1895 on the outskirts of Eastland, Texas. The church was occupied by a Catholic priest between 2250 to 2275, when the priest was shot by itinerant drillers from Wichita Fell who were passing through on their way to Abile. Since that incident, the church was boarded up by the then-Mayor and his son Jhan. It currently is home to a den of Texas Rattlers, giant irradiated rattlesnakes that sun themselves outside the church during the day. *This location is associated with the Eastland Quest Varmint Killin'. Potential Quests * Ida No -''' Ida Sykes used to run the town's general store. Something happened a few years back that made her less garrulous and more misanthropic. If she could be convinced to use her skills, the store might reopen. (Involves talking to other townspeople to find out why she no longer runs the store, then Speech (50) to convince Ida to consider re-opening the store, then Unarmed (70) to teach her self-defense). When the player returns, Ida will have a store that is stocked with basic foodstuffs like maize, prickly pear fruit, Texas cabbage, and RadRoot. '''* Sparkles in Their Eyes - All the younguns are leaving, the Mayor says, and without them, the town will be even more vulnerable to opportunistic attacks. Speak with the youths and try to figure something out. (Involves talking to several 14 to 17-year olds about staying with the town. 4 of the 5 need to remain for this quest to succeed). : Jimmy, 14 is beaten by his father and he figures he will have better luck with the drillers. Speak to his father and threaten to kick his tail Str (6) or Unarmed (50); or give him 5 Fixers to help solve his Alcoholism, or bless Jimmy heading toward Abile and escort him out of the home at night (Encounter with his father who has a shotgun-if you kill the father rather than beat him down, Jimmy turns hostile and flees); : Rose, 16 wants to go to the big city as well- she can be persuaded to stay if you give her 200 caps to purchase a sewing machine and to start a business. (Need to give her 400 caps and she'll still eventually leave for Abile if you can't pass a 30 Speech check, or you have lower than 8 Cha), with Lady Killer you could suggest that she be a kept-woman of yours in the area if you have 8 Cha and promise to give her 40 caps a week (auto-deducts) and 600 caps up-front (200 caps up-front with an 80 Speech check).; : Hector, a strapping 15-year-old, wants to make the best use of his strength as a driller- he can be convinced to stay by appealing to his chances to take over a few of the dead ranches and farm them. (Involves speaking to Jhan about handing over deeds to Hector (Barter 55; Speech 75); alternatively if Rose isn't already your kept woman, you can find out that Hector likes her and you can talk about the two settling down as farmers. Rose doesn't care much for Hector, but she knows that he is competent, but she wants a dowry for her sewing machine. To get them agree to be together, the amounts needed are the same as described in the Rose mission. : Wanda, a 17-year-old, has heard stories of great wealth being sent back from Abile. Find her evidence that not everyone hits it rich. Evidence can be found if you go to Radiation Junction and meet Bran, a man blinded and sickened by the oil. : Juan, a 16-year-old, wants to go to Abile to gather money so that he can open a general store. This opens the quest Ida No as he tells you how Ida closed the store and won't reopen it and that without her opening the store, he lacks money to start his own, but more important he lacks the trust of the community and everyone is leaving. If Ida reopens her store, then he can sign on as an apprentice and he'll promise to stay for a few years. *Ch-Ch-Changes - After Sparkles in Their Eyes has been completed, the Mayor tells you that his position as Mayor is precarious. The Oldtimers have been talking about replacing him. He wants to convince the Oldtimers that him staying Mayor is for the best. The Mayor will have to give up his trusty modified Combat Shotgun, Betsy, to someone who won't be able to use it as well and he fears that the gun will be lost and with it, the best defense that the town will have. This quest involves speaking to Enos Royster, who is 55, and Yvette Castaneda, who is 60 years old. Enos says he'll believe the Mayor is the best for the city if he can kill a giant Iguana that's been destroying crops or if he can take out the family of Texas Rattlers that took up residence in the Eastland Church. Yvette can be convinced by a Speech of 65 that is only available if you asked the Mayor about his previous accomplishments, to remind her of what he did for them. Alternatively, a Lady Killer perk allows you to charm her so that she'll support the Mayor because a "nice kid like yourself is a good judge of character." ; The Mayor reacts with fear to Enos' requirement. He asks you to kill the Iguana or the Texas Rattlers on his behalf. You can decline and he will go and die, or you can Speech 30 tell him to accompany you and you'll fight together (he needs to get the killing blow and he might die). Or you can Guns 75 show him what to do and he'll go and kill the Iguana, or you can take the shotgun and do his job. This opens the quest *Varmint Killin' Alternatively, you can agree with Enos and Yvette that the Mayor needs to be replaced. Their problem is that there is no good replacement for the Mayor. Enos recommends himself, but he's a little rusty with his shooting. Guns 40 to teach him a thing or two. Alternatively (and probably better for the town), you can convince him to nominate someone else with a Speech of 20. : -Potential candidates for the position may be found in Abile, some of whom are better than others. Enos is willing to accept a "necessary evil," but Yvette has a strong aversion to Drillers. A 70 Speech check will be needed to convince Yvette to accept someone from Abile. : -Alternatively, a Protectotron robot can be found in the Gordon junkyard and repaired with a Repair 60 and Science 50, or the people of Ranger can repair it if the Modernization quest in Ranger has been completed. If the robot is used for these purposes, it cannot be used to complete the Man's Newest Best Friend quest in Radiation Junction. *Varmint Killin' becomes available during the Ch-Ch-Changes quest. If the quest was declined, it becomes available immediately after declining the Ch-Ch-Changes quest if you talk to the Mayor again, except this time the mayor promises you 100 caps to kill both the Iguana or the Rattlers (50 each). The quest is also offered by Enos, who is mad about his crops. Enos will give you 50 caps, 5 Dr. Pipp cans, and a pack of Cigarettes if you tell him you killed the Iguana. If you complete the mission for Enos rather than for the Mayor then you do not get the mayor's reward as well, but if you get the mission from the Mayor, then you can also get an award from Enos if you claim that you killed the beasts. In that event, the mayor is deposed about 3 game-weeks later and Enos is the new Mayor. *Revenging Pa The Mayor has a lead on the Drillers who killed his father. A private investigator he paid in Abile wrote word that he had the names of four tough fellows who were bragging about how they took down a mayor in a podunk little town. The Mayor can't pay you to revenge his father, but he says that he'll write you a Warrant so that you will be absolved of any legal consequences arising from their murder. (The warrant is only useful if after you kill the people you can make a Barter 40 or a Speech 40 check). Relations *Abile and its Drillers are very disfavored in Eastland due to the violence that Drillers have brought to the community. *Wichita Fell is the home of most of the Drillers who have raided Eastland on their way to Abile. Due to the former mayor's death at the hands of Drillers, the town's relationship with Wichita Fell is very poor. People who claim a relationship to Drillers or to Wichita Fell are feared and hated. Category:Places Category:Texas